my pack is in trouble, my place is with them;;

He watched curiously as she knelt down at the box and gently picked up his heart. Watching her now she seemed like a different person. She wasn’t the same woman that had been accusing him of hurting all of those people. In fact he could detect a sense of compassion. It was similar to what he had seen in Snow and yet it seemed a little different than even that. What was different the Huntsman didn’t know but he wanted to find out. Unfortunately he wouldn’t be able to do that with his plan. Even so, he continued to watch her careful as he tried to figure out what her plan was. He had never seen someone handle his heart so carefully. Regina always seemed to handle it roughly and usually he had small spikes of pain going through his chest before she truly began to squeeze. But no pain came to him as the she-wolf handle it.

When the werewolf pressed his heart to his chest he was even more surprised. He had wanted his heart back, more than anything he had wanted it back, but he never thought she would give it back to him. If she had his heart then she could control him like Regina had and he thought that she would do that to make sure he didn’t go off to Regina to tell her about Snow White. It seemed his assumption had been wrong. Glancing down at his heart and then back up at her, the Huntsman gently placed his hands over hers as he pull her own hands closer to his chest. Being able to have his heart back, being able to feel something again, it was the only he had wanted during the cruel months of serving Regina.

"Then our purpose is one," he said as he looked into her green eyes. "Together we will save Snow White." And with that he pushed her hands towards his chest and ultimately pushed his heart back into its proper place. Pain shot through him but it wasn’t anything new to him. He released a few grunts of pain and backed away from her as he doubled over a little while clutching at the spot his heart had gone into him. The Huntsman panted a little as the pain subsided and he began to feel a sense of joy. He was actually feeling joy! He didn’t have to try and remember how that felt anymore. He could actually feel it now.

"Thank yoo," he said as he straightened and nodded at her with a faint smile.

                    “Hmm?”

"So you know her too. Ah was able t’spare Snow’s life once, but this time th’queen will not be so easily thwarted." She seemed more determined than ever to see this plan through. He could understand why too. The pack was more than willing to do what she wanted as long as she held up to her end of the deal. Knowing Regina he doubted that she would do that. One way or another she would see to it that she didn’t lose everything but still had control over the pack. What Regina had in mind the Huntsman had no idea but whatever it was he could only think that it would lead to the pack’s destruction. 

And the only way of stopping that was to warn Snow White. “Yoo must fin’ Snow an’ warn her. She is not safe. No matter how well hidden.” Everything he had done for her would then be for nothing. Sacrificing himself so she could live and having to deal with not feeling anything but pain. He just wished that he could help the she-wolf with protecting Snow. But Regina most likely wanted him dead and would have the pack looking for him. The best thing for him was to go into hiding until everything calmed down. It was what he had wanted for awhile after all. He had wanted to go back into the forest and live his quiet life like he had before taking that job. 

"Th’wolves are on th’hunt. They’ll kill everyone in their path if nothin’ is done t’stop them." Not that he needed to tell her that. He guessed she had spent at least some time with the pack and would know how they hunt. Together the pack could hunt down anything and that meant that Snow White wasn’t safe. 

He looked up from what he had been doing when she pointed out that he had defended her before she ran off with his heart. Given his reputation, before and after he started working for Regina, he knew that it must have been a little surprising. But the truth was he had a great deal of compassion. Before he only showed it towards animals but he had begun to learn how to show it for people as well. He did try it on Regina a few times with the hope that he could possibly get his heart back and be free but that never happened. There was also the fact that the Huntsman had thought she was just a wolf when she first attacked Regina. They had most likely walked through a wolf packs territory and normal wolves weren’t afraid of approaching werewolves like they were people. It was only after seeing the pack’s reaction to her and then noticing how she moved did he realize that she was a werewolf. Even then he would have helped her. He had been raised by werewolves and he still viewed them as his family. The pack might not have been fond of him but he wasn’t going to ignore one that was in danger.

"Because it was th’right thin’ t’do," he said, thinking that was the best way to explain his actions. "An’ th’queen could not then stop me." It was the truth regardless of how vague it was. He really didn’t have the desire to go into what he was like. People already judged him without getting to know him and he had learned early on that it wasn’t easy to change the minds of others. Most people didn’t want their minds to be changed and only recent actions would get them to even consider changing it. With having worked for Regina and doing horrible things to people he didn’t think anyone would do that to him.

Remembering that she-wolf had mentioned the village he had raided a few nights ago he took a small step towards as he said, “Her plan is grim, an’ Ah fear there is no one who can stand in her way.” She seemed to be trustworthy as she had been brave enough to attack Regina. And if she wanted to help the village and was close to them then she was possibly his only way to redeem himself for his actions. He didn’t want to take their silver and had even tried his best to leave them some so they could get through the winter. But Regina, as usual, had stopped him from doing that. The Huntsman wanted to help them as much as he could, heart or no heart. “Th’queen’s target was never th’village. It’s Snow White. Th’silver mines are just a means t’an end.” It was the only way that Regina could get the pack to work with her after all.

       ”You know, it’d be a lot easier to make up with Granny if you didn’t run over here every time you fought.”

He stayed quiet as she went on to talk about her views on Regina’s plan. Upon hearing her say “your plans” his jaw clenched as the hand resting on the hilt of his sword tightened. If he had his way then he wouldn’t have any part in this plan. But because of his knowledge on the pack and the fact that he had been controlled by Regina he had no choice. He wanted to tell her that too but it seemed pointless right then. She believed that he was just a puppet to do Regina’s dirty work, just like everyone else. It didn’t help that Huntsman had trouble getting emotions through so people knew that doing such things hurt him just as much as it did them. Fortunately he was used to it by now. People had hated him before he worked for Regina and they just continue to do so. 

It can’ feed anyone. Or that was what the Huntsman wanted to say but the woman kept on talking without giving him the chance to speak. And he was quite aware that they were starving. It was because of him that they were after all. He had taken all of their silver to make the arrows that were currently within his quiver and it was his doing that got Regina the mines. His eyes looked away from her for a moment when she asked him how he could sleep night. Honestly he had trouble with that. Between being Regina’s play thing and doing such things due to her orders made it hard for him to sleep. Most of his nights he woke up at least once during the night because of nightmares. That wasn’t something he saw ending any time soon. But he could try and make her understand that he had no choice but to follow Regina’s orders.

"Th’answer is in th’box yoo now carry."

For a second he thought that she wasn’t going to believe him and look but soon enough she vanished from his sight for a moment and reappeared with the box in her hands. He kept his eyes on her as she opened the box and waited for her reaction. Even in the dim light of the winter moon he could tell that she was surprised by what she found inside of it. “It’s…A heart.”

"It’s mah heart,” the Huntsman said as he took a step closer to the cliff that she-wolf stood on. Now that she had her sword down and was beginning to understand that he meant her no harm did he think it was about time for him to approach her. “Th’queen controlled it until yoo knocked it away from her. She stole it from me as punishment fer lettin’ Snow White live.” Taking another chance, he began to climb up the small cliff face. She very well could attack him and he would either fall to his death or worse (what worse was he hadn’t the foggest but he knew that worse could happen) with this plan but he pushed that to the back of his mind. He wanted to show her that he was on her side, heart or no heart, and that he didn’t want to harm her. 

The brunette looked towards where she hid the box and rushed towards it, pulling it up into her grasp and flipped the lid open. What was inside was something she didn't expect. Why would she have expected there to be a heart in the box? “It's... a heart.” She may have stuttered but Red was surprised – shocked – she just didn't expect there to be a heart there. His heart? So the heart belonged to the Huntsman – and without it he didn't have free will, the Queen controlled him and his actions? And here she was saying that he was part of her plans with his own free will and wanted to do that. It was a horrible thing to do, but to have no control over it? That was terrible. Red lifted her head. She just couldn't hold the box any more, placing it on the ground at the edge of the cliff, her green eyes focused on the beating organ, glistening and glowing in red. All of his free will, the ability to do what he wanted – to feel – right there. Her eyes turned to the Huntsman who was climbing, impressively, up the side of the cliff, she just tried to stay focused. He had mentioned someone though...                                             Snow White. Still, she brushed that from her mind, something was off about that. Without his heart, he said that he didn't have free will – that he couldn't do what he wanted to do. But that made little sense to the she-wolf. She stayed where she was, standing across from the Huntsman when he found his feet; but also made it known that she wasn't going to let him run off with his heart, not when she still had her doubts. Snow White was her best friend and she couldn't let anything happen to her.